--- title: "Common Crawl timestamps: capture dates versus launch dates" description: "Read Common Crawl timestamps, URLs, status codes, and digests to write a service-page history note with explicit capture and publication limits." canonical: "https://scalewithsearch.com/articles/common-crawl-capture-timestamp-not-launch-date" --- ## Site navigation - [Scale With Search](https://scalewithsearch.com/) - Services - Services - [AI systems](https://scalewithsearch.com/ai-systems) - [Site build](https://scalewithsearch.com/work#site-build) - [Whole website fix](https://scalewithsearch.com/work#whole-website-fix) - [Content library with SEO](https://scalewithsearch.com/work#content-library) - [Working session](https://scalewithsearch.com/audit) - Start here - [Send your brief](https://scalewithsearch.com/work#send-your-brief) - [Example scope](https://scalewithsearch.com/work#review-the-example-scope) - [Prices and terms](https://scalewithsearch.com/work#prices-and-terms) - Industries - Real estate - [Real estate agents and teams](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/real-estate) - [Platforms, ownership, and IDX](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/real-estate/real-estate-website-platforms-ownership-idx) - [Search, content, and AI](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/real-estate/real-estate-search-content-ai) - [Inquiries, campaigns, and handoffs](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/real-estate/real-estate-website-inquiries-campaigns-handoffs) - [Buyer, seller, and local pages](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/real-estate/real-estate-buyer-seller-local-resources) - [Rules, privacy, and trust](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/real-estate/real-estate-website-rules-privacy-trust) - Browse by business - [Trades and home services](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/#group-trades) - [Health, wellness, and animal care](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/#group-practices) - [Law, finance, and IT](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/#group-professional) - [Marketing and SEO agencies](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/#group-agencies) - [Shops and manufacturers](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/#group-manufacturing) - [Restaurants, shops, studios, and nonprofits](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/#group-local-services) - Chiropractic practices - [Chiropractic and wellness practices](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/chiropractic-and-wellness-practices) - [Chiropractic and physical therapy clinics](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/chiropractic-and-physical-therapy-clinics) - [All industries](https://scalewithsearch.com/for/) - Resources - Free tools - [AI readiness check](https://scalewithsearch.com/check) - [Free tools](https://scalewithsearch.com/tools/) - [Free Starter Kit](https://scalewithsearch.com/kit/business-memory-starter-kit.zip) - Guides - [AI-native library](https://scalewithsearch.com/ai-native) - [Industry intelligence](https://scalewithsearch.com/intelligence) - [Office job guides](https://scalewithsearch.com/guides/) - [Business memory](https://scalewithsearch.com/articles/business-memory-for-ai-agents-guide) - [Agent governance](https://scalewithsearch.com/articles/ai-agent-governance-guide-small-business) - [Migration and ownership](https://scalewithsearch.com/articles/leaving-vendor-ai-memory-guide) - Articles - [All articles](https://scalewithsearch.com/articles/) - [What changed](https://scalewithsearch.com/changes/) - About - Evidence - [Proof](https://scalewithsearch.com/proof) - Scale With Search - [About](https://scalewithsearch.com/about) - [How it works](https://scalewithsearch.com/how-it-works) # Common Crawl timestamps: report an observed capture without inventing a launch date An archive timestamp answers a narrower question than a website launch date. It can support a dated observation about a captured URL. It cannot supply the missing release record from the website owner. Suppose an agency finds an older service-page capture while preparing a strategy review. The useful finding identifies the URL, collection, capture time, and historical response. A sentence about when the company launched that service needs separate evidence. This guide proposes a reporting method for [SEO agencies and consultants](/for/seo-agencies-and-consultants). It uses invented records to show which conclusions fit archive metadata. None of the examples describes an actual company or a completed historical lookup. ## Read the record before writing the timeline Common Crawl defines `timestamp` as capture time, `url` as the captured page URL, and `status` as the HTTP response code. Its `digest` field contains a SHA-1 checksum of captured contents. [Common Crawl CDXJ field definitions, checked 2026.10.28](https://www.commoncrawl.org/cdxj-index). Treat these as separate evidence fields. Do not compress them into a spreadsheet column called “launch.” That label would add an event the source has not established. Use a short field table before drafting the client explanation: | Record item | Question it helps answer | Question left open | | --- | --- | --- | | Timestamp | When does the record place this capture? | When did the owner publish the page? | | URL | Which captured address does this record identify? | Which address does the business prefer today? | | Status | What response code belongs to that capture? | What response does the current route return? | | Digest | Which checksum accompanies these captured contents? | Which sentence, template, or asset changed? | | Collection | Where did the analyst find the record? | What happened outside that research scope? | This table is a recommended interpretation aid. It should travel with the working evidence, even when the final report needs only one paragraph. Preserve the original record separately from the prose summary. A colleague should be able to check each reported value without reconstructing your interpretation. Keep the source reference close enough to reopen. ## Keep three clocks in the research note Record capture time, analyst observation time, and website publication time separately. In this proposed workflow, publication time remains unknown until another checked source establishes it. Capture time belongs to the archive record. Analyst observation time belongs to your research activity. Publication time belongs to the site's history. Giving all three the same value would erase distinctions the review needs. Use explicit column names such as `archive_capture_utc`, `analyst_observed_at`, and `publication_date_evidence`. Avoid a generic `date` column when multiple events appear in the same table. For example, an analyst could inspect a historical record on 2026.10.28. That inspection date would describe the research, regardless of the earlier capture timestamp. It would provide no additional publication evidence. The [CDXJ format specification](https://specs.webrecorder.net/cdxj/0.1.0/) defines its integer timestamp in UTC. Keep the raw digits beside a readable UTC value. This avoids silently presenting archive time as the analyst's local time. For the synthetic timestamp `20260312103000`, write `2026-03-12 10:30:00 UTC`. If a reader needs local time, verify the intended zone and conversion first. Label the converted value with its zone and preserve UTC as the comparison reference. Do not infer time from a collection label. Common Crawl publishes separate collection indexes; the collection identifies the lookup context. Use the record's timestamp for the captured event. [Common Crawl collection documentation](https://www.commoncrawl.org/cdxj-index). ## Work through two hypothetical collections The following records are entirely synthetic. `HYPOTHETICAL-ALPHA` and `HYPOTHETICAL-BETA` are teaching labels, not real Common Crawl collection identifiers. `DIGEST-A`, `DIGEST-B`, and `DIGEST-C` are readable placeholders, not valid checksums. | Hypothetical collection | Captured URL | Timestamp | Status | Digest placeholder | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | HYPOTHETICAL-ALPHA | `https://example.com/services/site-review` | `20260312103000` | `200` | `DIGEST-A` | | HYPOTHETICAL-BETA | `https://example.com/services/site-review` | `20260409111500` | `200` | `DIGEST-B` | | HYPOTHETICAL-BETA | `http://www.example.com/services/site-review` | `20260409112000` | `301` | `DIGEST-C` | Start with the first two rows. They give the exercise two observations for the same displayed URL. The first synthetic timestamp precedes the second. Their placeholder digests differ. A defensible exercise conclusion reads: “The supplied example records contain a capture dated March 12 and another dated April 9.” Keep the hypothetical label when sharing this example. A stronger sentence, “The service launched on March 12,” has no support in those rows. Neither record identifies the business decision, release approval, or first public availability. Another unsupported sentence would say that the company rewrote its service description in April. Different digests do not identify an editorial change. The records supply no compared text or owner explanation. Use the difference as a question for permitted follow-up: “What accounts for the different captured contents?” Leave the answer unresolved when the research scope excludes body retrieval. ## Separate URL identity from business identity The third synthetic row uses a different scheme and host. Keep its raw URL alongside the other records. Do not silently replace it with your preferred version of the address. For this exercise, assign each displayed URL its own observation row. Add a separate relationship field only when supporting evidence connects the variants. A familiar-looking path is insufficient for a historical consolidation decision. Distinguish query matching from returned values. A query can cover a broader scope than the exact address later quoted in a report. The [CDX API reference](https://github.com/webrecorder/pywb/wiki/CDX-Server-API) documents exact, prefix, host, and domain matching. The [CDXJ specification](https://specs.webrecorder.net/cdxj/0.1.0/) normalizes the searchable URL, including removing the HTTP or HTTPS protocol. Preserve returned `url` values rather than assuming an exact query isolates every spelling of an address. Write down the selected match scope with the result. If your query includes an entire host, inspect which returned URL supports each sentence. Avoid assigning one route's timestamp to every service page on that host. Preserve redirect observations as their own historical evidence. In the synthetic table, the `301` belongs to that row and capture time. A statement about today's destination requires a separately checked current response. An agency can group variants for review without claiming they were always equivalent. Use a label such as “possible historical variant” until the relationship is confirmed. This keeps the research useful while the identity question remains open. ## Treat digest differences as a comparison question A checksum is useful for distinguishing record contents without supplying an explanation of those contents. For the proposed reporting workflow, retain it as evidence metadata rather than a business-event label. If two synthetic rows have different digests, record that difference. Do not translate it into “new offer,” “copied article,” or “expanded service area.” Those labels require evidence the checksum does not contain. If two digests match, avoid claiming that every business fact remained unchanged between the captures. Your note still covers specific records, URLs, and observation times. It does not describe continuous operation between them. Consider the reviewer's next question. If the brief concerns whether a service existed, metadata alone may leave the task unresolved. Say which additional evidence would answer it, rather than filling the gap with a plausible narrative. For an owned website, ask about a dated deployment record or approved release note. For another business, use an appropriately sourced public statement when available. Keep any statement's date and scope distinct from the archive capture. ## Write the evidence note at the strength of the observation Here is a synthetic research note based on the example table. It demonstrates wording, not a finding about a live domain: > On 2026.10.28, the analyst reviewed the supplied hypothetical records for `https://example.com/services/site-review`. HYPOTHETICAL-ALPHA contains a capture timestamp of `20260312103000`, displayed as 2026-03-12 10:30:00 UTC, with status `200`. HYPOTHETICAL-BETA contains another capture for that displayed URL. Their placeholder digests differ. Website publication time and the reason for the difference remain unknown. Notice what the note preserves: the analyst's work date, the captured address, the collection context, and the source values. It also names the unanswered publication question. For real research, replace the hypothetical labels with verified collection identifiers. Link the permitted record reference and retain the actual query scope. Never paste the teaching example into a client report as historical proof. Ask the website owner a bounded question: “Which dated release record establishes when this URL became publicly available?” A second question can address migrations or redirects. Avoid suggesting that the archive already supplied the answers. ## Review the sentence before it enters a strategy deck Use this decision table during editorial review. It describes recommended acceptance choices for the evidence available in the example: | Proposed report statement | Review decision | Reason | | --- | --- | --- | | A supplied record has the displayed capture timestamp | Accept with the synthetic label | The table supplies that observation | | This is our earliest observed capture within the inspected scope | Accept only after checking scope and ordering | The sentence describes the research boundary | | This was the first capture anywhere | Hold | The inspected records do not establish universal coverage | | The business launched its service that day | Hold | Publication evidence is missing | | The current route returns the historical status | Hold | No current route check was supplied | | The digest proves another site copied the page | Reject | A checksum supplies no copying explanation | A capture observation also supplies no measurement of Google indexing, traffic, or commercial performance. Keep those questions in their respective evidence reviews. A chronology slide should identify its source type beside each dated entry. When an older capture is later discovered, revise the earliest-observed statement and retain the correction. The [business memory guide](/articles/business-memory-for-ai-agents-guide) explains why working decisions need an owned record. For this workflow, store the accepted wording with the query and review date. ## Choose the next research action deliberately Use the positive observation to decide what question remains worth answering. The next action may be asking the owner for a release record. It may also be closing the research with publication time unresolved. If the lookup produced no records, use the companion guide to [missing Common Crawl captures](/articles/common-crawl-missing-capture-coverage-not-page-deletion). Absence needs a different note because there is no positive capture to describe. The [agency intelligence overview](/intelligence/seo-agencies-and-consultants) places historical observations beside other source-led review tasks. Define the decision, permitted sources, and reviewer before expanding the research. Scale With Search can discuss a bounded evidence and review workflow through the scope form. Bring one research question and an example of the report it should support. [Discuss your scope](/work) Continue the website review: [AI-native SEO agencies: the first functions to build](/articles/ai-native-seo-agencies-first-functions); [Missing Common Crawl captures: distinguish archive coverage from a deleted page](/articles/common-crawl-missing-capture-coverage-not-page-deletion); [SEO agency AI rules: data, approvals, and spend](/articles/seo-agency-ai-rules-data-approvals-spend); [AI search service page: define your agency offer](/articles/seo-agency-ai-search-service-page); [Disavow service pages: qualify the SEO inquiry](/articles/seo-agency-disavow-service-page); [Free SEO audit tools: state what the scan checks](/articles/seo-agency-free-audit-tool-boundaries); [Guest contributions on your SEO agency blog](/articles/seo-agency-guest-contribution-policy); [SEO pricing calculators: estimate before quoting](/articles/seo-agency-pricing-calculator-website); [Public corrections on your SEO agency blog](/articles/seo-agency-public-article-corrections); [Rank report demos on an SEO agency website](/articles/seo-agency-rank-report-demo); [Schema generators on an SEO agency website](/articles/seo-agency-schema-generator-tool-page); [SEO agency access page: request Search Console safely](/articles/seo-agency-search-console-access-page); [SEO workshop pages: explain the training before booking](/articles/seo-agency-training-workshop-page); [SEO audit sample: show buyers your actual deliverable](/articles/seo-agency-website-audit-sample). [SEO agencies and consultants](/for/seo-agencies-and-consultants): website and search resources. ## Related: SEO agencies and consultants - [Missing Common Crawl captures: distinguish archive coverage from a deleted page](/articles/common-crawl-missing-capture-coverage-not-page-deletion) - [SEO agency AI rules: data, approvals, and spend](/articles/seo-agency-ai-rules-data-approvals-spend) - [AI search service page: define your agency offer](/articles/seo-agency-ai-search-service-page) ---- ```text .|########||. .|########||. .|########||. |##||. .||##|. |##||. .||##|. |##||. .||##|. |#|. .|#|. |#|. .|#|. |#|. .|#|. |#| |#| |#| |#| |#| |#| .#| |#. .#| |#. .#| |#. .#. .#| .#. .#| .#. .#| |#. .#| |#. .#| |#. .#| |# ...... #| |# ...... #| |# ...... #| .# ||#########| #| .# ||#########| #| .# ||#########| #| .#. |######||######|. .#. .#. |######||######|. .#. .#. |######||######|. .#. #. .##|###|##|#|######| .# #. .##|###|##|#|######| .# #. .##|###|##|#|######| .# || |##|#||||||||||||#||#| || || |##|#||||||||||||#||#| || || |##|#||||||||||||#||#| || # |#||||||||||||||||||||#| #. # |#||||||||||||||||||||#| #. # |#||||||||||||||||||||#| #. || |#||||||||||||||||||||||#| || || |#||||||||||||||||||||||#| || || |#||||||||||||||||||||||#| || # .#||||||||||||||||||||||||#| # # .#||||||||||||||||||||||||#| # # .#||||||||||||||||||||||||#| # || ....|||#||||||##|#|||#|#||##||||....|. || || ....|||#||||||##|#|||#|#||##||||....|. || || ....|||#||||||##|#|||#|#||##||||....|. || #. . ....|# ....#||| ||| .#||| ....#. .# #. . ....|# ....#||| ||| .#||| ....#. .# #. . ....|# ....#||| ||| .#||| ....#. .# # . ||||#| .#####|| . .#| .#||| ||||# #. # . ||||#| .#####|| . .#| .#||| ||||# #. # . ||||#| .#####|| . .#| .#||| ||||# #. .| ||||| #. |#|||||. || #. |#||. .||||| || .| ||||| #. |#|||||. || #. |#||. .||||| || .| ||||| #. |#|||||. || #. |#||. .||||| || || |.... #. ....|#. |. ...|. ....|| || || |.... #. ....|#. |. ...|. ....|| || || |.... #. ....|#. |. ...|. ....|| || #. .||||||##||||||##||####|||||||#||||||#| .# #. .||||||##||||||##||####|||||||#||||||#| .# #. .||||||##||||||##||####|||||||#||||||#| .# # .||####|###########################|. # # .||####|###########################|. # # .||####|###########################|. # # .#||||||.#.|| # |. ..# #| #|||||#| # # .#||||||.#.|| # |. ..# #| #|||||#| # # .#||||||.#.|| # |. ..# #| #|||||#| # # .#|||||| .. |# ## |#| ...#|#|||#| # # .#|||||| .. |# ## |#| ...#|#|||#| # # .#|||||| .. |# ## |#| ...#|#|||#| # # .#|||#|# .# .#| #| ##|.#..#|||||#| # # .#|||#|# .# .#| #| ##|.#..#|||||#| # # .#|||#|# .# .#| #| ##|.#..#|||||#| # # .#||||||############|######|||||#| # # .#||||||############|######|||||#| # # .#||||||############|######|||||#| # # |...||#||||||#||||#|#||||||#|||||#||| |.| # # |...||#||||||#||||#|#||||||#|||||#||| |.| # # |...||#||||||#||||#|#||||||#|||||#||| |.| # #. .. ||||# .|||##|. |#| .|| || .|||#. #| # .# #. .. ||||# .|||##|. |#| .|| || .|||#. #| # .# #. .. ||||# .|||##|. |#| .|| || .|||#. #| # .# || | ...|| ...##| | #| .|. |. ##### .. .| || || | ...|| ...##| | #| .|. |. ##### .. .| || || | ...|| ...##| | #| .|. |. ##### .. .| || || ||||| || ||||#| . |. |. |#. ||||| |#| || || || ||||| || ||||#| . |. |. |#. ||||| |#| || || || ||||| || ||||#| . |. |. |#. ||||| |#| || || .# |.....#|....|#.||||.|||##.|#|....||.#||.#. #. .# |.....#|....|#.||||.|||##.|#|....||.#||.#. #. .# |.....#|....|#.||||.|||##.|#|....||.#||.#. #. #.|||||||#############################| ||| .# #.|||||||#############################| ||| .# #.|||||||#############################| ||| .# || ##||#||#||||||#||#||#||#||##. || || ##||#||#||||||#||#||#||#||##. || || ##||#||#||||||#||#||#||#||##. || # .#|||||||||#||#|||||||||||#| # # .#|||||||||#||#|||||||||||#| # # .#|||||||||#||#|||||||||||#| # || |#||||||||||||||||||||||#| || || |#||||||||||||||||||||||#| || || |#||||||||||||||||||||||#| || .# |#||||||||||||||||||||#| #. .# |#||||||||||||||||||||#| #. .# |#||||||||||||||||||||#| #. || |#||||||||||||||||||#| || || |#||||||||||||||||||#| || || |#||||||||||||||||||#| || #. .######|#|#########| .# #. .######|#|#########| .# #. .######|#|#########| .# .#. |#####||||#####| .#. .#. |#####||||#####| .#. .#. |#####||||#####| .#. |# ||########|| #. |# ||########|| #. |# ||########|| #. |# ...... #| |# ...... #| |# ...... #| |#. .#| |#. .#| |#. .#| |#. .#. |#. .#. |#. .#. .#| |#. .#| |#. .#| |#. |#| |#| |#| |#| |#| |#| .|#|. .|#|. .|#|. .|#|. .|#|. .|#|. |##||. .||##| |##||. .||##| |##||. .||##| .||########||. .||########||. .||########||. 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